Soccer is a well known sport worldwide and is increasing in popularity. One of its appealing characteristics is its simplicity: a ball and a goal are the only required equipment. In much of the world, community parks and playgrounds commonly include permanently installed soccer goals. Yet in many areas most playgrounds, parks and other surfaces suitable for playing soccer lack soccer goals. It is therefore desirable to provide a portable soccer goal so that games of soccer may be played in such settings.
Some attempts have been made to develop portable soccer goals. A relatively early example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,272 to Pennell. The Pennell goal is made of several separable units and requires at least two people for assembly and disassembly. It uses several loose fasteners, including screws, bolts and clip pins, and is "portable" only in a station wagon or pickup truck. Several later goals also require the assembly of numerous separate pieces (U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,507 to Caruso, U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,375 to Moosavi).
Soccer goals consisting of numerous pieces have the distinct disadvantage that they are difficult and slow to set up. Loose fasteners may require tools for driving or tightening, and may also become lost in transit or storage or during assembly of a goal on a turf playing field.
In some portable goal designs, a balance was struck between portability and ease of assembly. A goal would be broken down into few separate pieces or one piece, but the resulting piece or pieces would be large and cumbersome (U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,411 to Padilla, U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,040 to Amburgey et al.). Other attempts sacrificed the shape, structure, or dimensions of authentic soccer goals to enhance portability and/or ease of setup (U.S. Pat. No. 4,420,158 to Klock, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,844 to Haseltine, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,527 to Noval, U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,433 to Armell).
Several of these designs do not look or behave like a genuine soccer goal, and can provide a disadvantage when players become accustomed to attacking or defending a goal with a configuration that is different from that of the goals they will use in more standard soccer venues.
Some recent goals have taken other approaches in balancing the competing design objectives. One strategy is to rely on numerous hinges, supporting angles, and beam architecture theory to devise a rigid but collapsible goalpost. U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,368 to Pavonetti describes a multiply hinged soccer goal. This soccer goal has a plurality of pieces, some of which are connected by hinges at one end and have a second free end that must be inserted or otherwise connected to adjacent parts of the goal during setup. Goal setup also involves connecting crossbar members together until the cross bar members attain the attributes of a fixed beam. The Pavonetti goal also has several telescoping members, such as the net supporting arms. In addition, the soccer goal is supported by two flat base units that connect the front of the goal to the rear of the goal on each side. These units therefore attach to the playing surface, the rear supports, and the uprights.
The several connectible net supporting arms complicate the setup and breakdown of the goal. The telescoping members provide a disadvantage if they jam or bend, because they may then fail to properly telescope.
Base members connecting the net supports to the uprights create a significant disadvantage when the goal is installed on a playing surface that is not flat, because the uprights rise from the base members at a 90.degree. angle. This relationship of relatively long straight base members connected to the uprights dictates that, if the playing surface slopes, the uprights will proportionally deviate from a substantially vertical position.
The Pavonetti goal has the additional disadvantage that the net is attached to the goal using a plurality of hooks. Such an arrangement requires additional setup time for attaching the net and may also provide an undesirable hazard arising from numerous hooks on the frame of the goal.
An important issue not directly addressed in previous designs is how to configure a goal that can withstand the force of a player grasping and hanging from the crossbar--a behavior often seen on the soccer field. Under some designs a goal may suddenly fail under such a force. The potential danger to the player of a sudden failure is evident. Other goals may permanently bend under a strong downward force, resulting in damage to the goal; the undesirability of this alternative is equally evident.
An additional factor in considering desirable features for a portable soccer goal is the fact that many of the available playing surfaces are uneven or sloped. Goals that focus primarily on a rigid structure may not be sufficiently adaptable to mount stably in an upright position on an uneven or sloping surface.